The Art of Combat
by Tanzanite for Jade
Summary: After the events if The Last Jedi Rey has been searching for her purpose in this unfolding story, and seems to find one in the ancient books of the Jedi. While she is learning of the arts of the Lightsaber, The First Order has been hunting down the Resistance, and rumors of a super weapon being built have left many to wonder if they will make it out of this battle alive.
1. Chapter 1

It had been two weeks since the incident aboard the _Supremecy_ and Rey had been settling back into the life of the Resistance. She gazed at the broken crystal in her palm and noticed all of the tiny imperfections. The smooth crystal was marred in the center, the sharp and rough edge being created in her combat with... him. She let out a heavy sigh as she placed the pieces back into the empty husk of the Saber, leaving it behind the rusted crates in the _Falcon,_ which smelled heavily of the salty spray of the ocean. She leaned back against a tattered pillow that was propped up on the wall of the ship, providing slightly more comfort than the hard corners and edges of the crate.

The low lights of the ship gave the impression of a stormy night, the likes of which she had only seen once before. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine the rumbles in the distance as the heavy pitter-patter of rain falling against the metal. The blinking lights of the control panel at the front of the ship were illuminating the halls in their constant push and pull.

The ancient roar of the engine provided no comfort for her sleep deprived mind as she decided to be productive. Looking into the crate on her left she pulled out a small handheld light and the ancient books of the Jedi. The pages were filled with poetic language that was hard to decipher in spite of the fact that it was written in Basic. She peeled open the tattered cover of a book titled _The Art of the Lightsaber_.

The first thing she notices when she opened the cover was an ancient poem, the language written in a confusing and difficult manner to understand. The brittle page seemed to be begging for interpretation, a deeper understanding. The words were unorthodox and long, nothing that she would have ever needed to understand as a scavenger. Just below the poem there was a faded image of a blue kyber crystal, the watercolours having long since distributed over the page so all that was left were light pencil markings and slight shading.

At this she looked at her pitiful blue crystal, seemingly a symbol of her shattered life.

She sat up with a start as she heard the heavy snoring of Chewbacca echoing down the hall and being magnified in her room. The sound forced her to remember her situation. Her head started to pound as the noise only irritated her more and more. She decided to get up and practice her forms, sketches of the lightsaber forms covering the walls for reference. At this moment she was grateful that the others had left her the cargo room that, while cluttered and small, provided her with the solitary life style that she had grown accostomed to. The light padding of her feet on the ground centered her as she began to move through the first stance.

The screaming of her head fell away as she became consumed by her task, the balanced flow of her movements controlling her as the wind controls the drifting of the sand. She delicately and deliberately went though the motions, her invisible sword providing her with all of the nimble mess and swiftness that she had gained over the years. In this moment she could simply forget about what had occurred a few weeks ago, she could forget her emmense burden as the last of the Jedi, and she could forget the delicate edge that the Resistance was playing with.

Her trance like movements were ended abruptly as she sensed a presence behind her.

She didn't turn to face him as she said, "I thought that... this... was over."

"It appears that my previous master had lied about this as well," He stated with his deep, soft voice.

At this she turned around slowly to see the man who she had believed in standing with a stoic and hurt expression in his eyes.

"We should probably ignore it," Rey stated as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I think we both know that's impossible," He said in a patronizing tone as he looked at her.

"Well that doesn't mean that I can't try," Rey said as she went to lay down in her makeshift bed, rolling away from his presence as she felt the pounding of the headache begin to return.

From behind her she heard a heavy sigh, followed shortly by the a soft _whump_. As Kylo seemed to sit on a soft surface of some sort.


	2. Chapter 2

The darkness of the room surrounded him as he let out a sigh. The brief connection they had was now broken, leaving him alone in his simple room. The softness of the bed he was sitting on was far to comfortable for his liking as he got up to pace.

He slipped on his regular attire as prepared to leave his room, the mechanical music of the engine spurring him forwards. The sound of his feet provided him a brief escape from his thoughts as he went down the hallways aimlessly.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Asked the ginger general as he tried to hide his hatred for Kylo.

"Walking," replied Ren as he started to make his way out of the hall.

"Where to?" Asked the Arkansian as he roamed his eyes briefly to the blaster at his side.

"The training grounds," Kylo responded, hoping to get out of his encounter with the scowling general.

"Well then, you are heading the wrong direction."

"Scenic route."

"That just so happened to take you in the exact opposite direction of where you are going?"

"What are you doing up, General?"

"I just so happen to be looking for my cat, not that you would care anyways."

"That cat did always hate me."

"Of course she would, Millicent is an excellent judge of character."

"If she answers to you I sincerely doubt it."

"She is a cat, she answers to no one."

At this Kylo rolled his eyes as he noticed a flash of orange fur above the control panel. "I believe that the furry abomination is behind you," He stated.

Hux looked over his shoulder and noticed that Kylo was correct.

Before Hux left the hall he stated, "Well if you have nothing to do there are several stacks of paperwork in your office that require your attention."

"General," He acknowledged as Kylo left the hall.

Kylo sighed as he realised that the annoying Arkansian man had a point.

He went into the office and shut the door behind him as he took out a quill and some ink. He grabbed the first sheet of paper, skimmed through it, and then carefully placed his name on the designated line. Each letter flowed into the next as the words seemed to dance across the page. The black ink followed the movements of his brush, which was perfectly pointed, as it moved across the line.

The black ink contrasted heavily against the clinical white of the page.

He continued on like this for awhile, signing barely read policies on inconsequential things. About halfway through the stack something caught his eye. It was a policy promoted by Captain Phasma before she went MIA about stormtroopers companionship.

 _It is my belief that we would significantly decrease the out of traitors within First Order ranks if we created a reward system for loyalty and adherence to the rules of the First Order. If we incentivized the troops as well as discipline them I think that the troops would be far more efficient at their jobs. They would also have more enthusiasm for doing their jobs well. I think an effective way to accomplish this would be to allow troops in the same unit to fraternize with each other. This will allow the troops to have something to fight for that isn't an abstract cause._

After that the paper seemed to dive into the policy to make that change a possibility. He briefly contemplated how mad Hux would be if he discovered that Kylo had signed in this policy. Kylo decided that the policy was sound, only slightly motivated by getting a reaction out of the thin, ginger man.

He dipped his quill in the black ink before moving his hand across the line, placing care and effort into every subtle movement of his wrist.

Sleep seemed to hit him like a durasteel wall, the stack of papers complete seeming to justify all of the unfinished work left in a neat stack on the corner. He moved off of his chair before blinking sveral times, trying to eliminate the hazy feeling of sleep.

He swiftly made it back through the maze of hallways to his room, before changing into a sleeping attire and laying in his soft bed. A few minutes later the sound of soft snores could be heard throughout the room, a sure sign that the untamed beast of a man had fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The heavy sound of the ship entering the atmosphere awoke Rey from her sleep. The heavy pull of the atmosphere shook the ship like it was a tin can. She rushed to the front of the ship and noticed that they were passing through large clouds, the deep swirling greys and whites being the only thing that she could see at the moment. She soon noticed water droplets gathering at the edges of the window as they continued their controlled fall.

"Need any help?" She asked.

"I'll take you up on that offer when we land." Poe Dameron said as concentration laced his tone.

The ship soon broke free from the grip of the clouds showing a world full of giant ferns and towering insects. The rich blues and greens of the planet below showed plentiful signs of life. She felt the pull of the force from her place, rich and full, showing her the heartbeat of the planet. As the ship came closer to the world she noticed a village below. The tall wooden huts were built on stilts, no doubt to protect them from the wildlife below. The ship landed in the middle of a clearing just outside of the village, a gentle stop showing the Resistance that they had landed.

"Where are we?" Asked Rey in an awestruck voice.

"Felucia. Several members on this world are Resistance sympathizers. the elders of this village have promised us asylum while we build our base," answered Leia.

"I believe that you offered your help," Dameron asked from his seat in the pilots chair, "because I am going to need it for unloading the cargo."

"Fine," Rey sighed, "but just remember that you owe me a favor."

"That is understood loud and clear," Poe stated as they both went to her room.

As the two entered the room Rey suddenly recalled all of the books hidden behind the box. Unluckily for her that just so happened to be the first box that Poe went for. Rey cringed as she heard the sound of the Jedi books ungracefully collapsed to the ground.

Poe, having noticed her reaction decided to ask her, "Rey, what are these?"

Sighing in defeat Rey answered with a timid voice, "The ancient Jedi texts..."

"Did you steal these from-"

"Luke? I suppose that I sort of did, possibly, steal them from him while I was on..."

She trailed off as she heard Poe chuckling under his breath before breaking into a full laugh.

Rey was shocked at his reaction and was mortified when he plucked her notebook off the ground. She raced forwards to try and grab the notebook from his hand before he opened the book.

"Can we please focus on our job," Rey asked meekly after several failed attempts at prying the book from his hand.

"I suppose you're right," he said as he put the book in his pocket.

Rey and Poe made quick work of emptying out the room and taking the crates outside where others helped to lift them into the trees. After all of the work was dealt with Rey decided to go and ask Finn if he wanted to explore with her. The clouds had long since disappeared and the mid-day sun was shining on her face.

Right before she went to go looking for Finn, one of the villagers came to her before giving a short bow in respect. "The elders have asked for your presence in the stone hut Jedi," the girl said before she straightened up, "If you would allow me the honor, I would like to guide you to them."

"That would be most appreciated," Rey answered slowly as she took in the strangeness of the situation.

With those words said the tall frog-like girl turned and went towards the heart of the village. Rey followed with dhort, quick strides to match her long, slow ones. Once at the base of the hut the girl bowed again before leaving Rey to climb the ladder on her own. She wiftly climbed the ladder before entering the door made of beads. The beads were threaded on yellow strings , though the beads themselves where a deep crimson in colour.

She took a long step into the cool hut, the cold temperature offering her no comfort as she stepped before the elders.

The grey skinned man in the center was the first to speak after a heavy silence had filled the room. "Rey of Jakku, it has come to our attention that you are a Jedi in training. Is this true?"

"Yes it is..." Rey trailed off as she raked her brain for an appropriate title for the elder, "Elder of the village."

"Then we shall present you with some knowledge, young Jedi. _If you travel west at the fall of night, and travel until the morning light, the deep red of dawn, shall show you the house of Raun._ It is an ancient poem created by some early Jedi when they came to our village many millennia ago. It is believed that the House of Raun is a place of deep force energy. We believe that seeking the place shall help you on your journey young Jedi, so tonight we shall see you leave our village with plenty of provisions."

"Thank you sir," Rey said as she bowed and left the hut, going back out into the warmth of mid-day with a new purpose in mind.


	4. Chapter 4

After the elders had told her about the House of Raun, Rey was on edge, waiting patiently for the sun to begin it's descent from the sky.

"You know, it's kind of funny when you think about it," Finn stated from beside her.

"What is?" She asked while watching the red sun fall slowly towards the horizon.

"That while we both were raised in completely different circumstances, we both consider this to be the exact opposite of what we knew."

"I suppose you're right," She said as she saw the horizon begin to show the pastel colours of an early sunset.

She stared at the village below them for a few moments, where other members of the Resistance were playing a game, before she jumped from the straw-thatched roof that she was on to the deck below. After she finished assisting Finn on his way down she began her way towards the westernmost shrine of the village, where she would be gifted with different tools to help her on her quest. several members of the Resistance were already waiting for her when she got there, as well as the elders of the village. When she stepped up to the shrine she saw carvings of people kneeling to the elders before she decided that it was wisest that she do so as well.

As soon as her knee hit the ground the oldest of them began speaking, "Lady Rey, last of the Jedi, savior of worlds, we gift upon you three ancient Jedi artifacts in the hope that they shall aid you in your quest. First, the lantern of knowledge, may its undying flame help to guide you in your quest for information," as he said this a lantern was placed to her right with a small, orange flame safely nestled in the center, "Second, we grant you the ring of peace, may its connection to the force enable a sense of calm within through the perils of the jungle," once he had said this he set a small grey ring to her left that contained a small green kyber crystal on its front, " and lastly, we gift to you the sword of light, may it enable you to protect yourself from the harms of the temple, forest, and galaxy." once he had said this he laid a song blade into her hands.

The blade appeared to be made of liquid metal that was as solid as durasteel, and as deadly as a lightsaber.

The assistant of the elders from earlier spoke to her and said, "You are now granted 10 minutes of informal inquiry and last conversations with your friends prior to the completion of the sunset."

As permission was granted to her she went to the elder who had run the ceremony and asked him, "Why do you not carry a lightsaber? it seems as though it would do all of the tasks of these items more efficiently."

"The ancient Jedi had no proper holding device for the crystal, so they maintained order by carrying these items with them. While that practice ended thousands of years ago, the most recent Jedi to visit our village said that the three separate items were more useful, as several of the trials required singular aspects to be separated from one another so as to unlock all of the secrets of the House of Raun," he answered.

Finding this answer to make perfect sense Rey went to Finn to talk with him.

"That ceremony was pretty crazy," Finn said as she approached him.

"I know, right? I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do," Rey stated as she looked past Finn to see that Poe was approaching them.

"Hello!" Poe exclaimed in his usually happy tone.

"What is it that you are carrying?" Finn asked with curiosity and excitement lacing his voice.

"Nothing much, just three days worth of supplies for the Lady," He said jokingly while giving Rey a mock bow.

"Three days?! But it's supposed to take two at the most!" She exclaimed with bewilderment as the heavy backpack was thrust into her arms, nearly causing her to drop it.

"Relax, it's just a safety measure in case you get lost or something. Don't worry about it. It is just standard procedure you know," Poe stated with amusement in his voice.

"Well I think that it's slightly excessive, even if it is just the way things operate around here," She said while slowly placing the heavy pack onto her back.

"Look, if you get lost out there we will start a manhunt, after three days of course so don't worry," Poe stated before walking back over to the few pilots that survived Crait.

After her conversation with Poe the sun was deemed low enough for her to begin the ancient journey that many before her had taken.

She stepped out into the wilderness, waiting to see what would become of her in the House of Raun.


	5. Chapter 5

The dark wilderness echoed with the sounds of bugs and rushing water. The smaller crickets were chirping from their posts beneath the leaves of the forest floor while a wooden creaking sound could be heard in the distance, probably from those giant predatory bugs that the locals protected themselves from. The moss beneath her feet ensured that she sounded silent as she walked across the forest floor. The dying light of the red sun could be seen illuminating the top of the canopy in a brilliant pinkish-orange colour.

The force whirled around her like the powerful sandstorms of Jakku, pulling her towards her goal with all of the chaos and confusion in the world. She could sense something was not quite right with the forest around her, for the swirling energy told her that something was amiss. She looked to the sky to see if she could notice anything wrong, like tie fighters or Star Destroyers, that might cause this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She soon realized the two causes of her dread, the first being her fear of what she might find at The House of Raun, and the second being the scattered feeling of the force. While on Ach-To all aspects of the force were separate, much like the parts of a ship, the dark separated from the light, small pockets of a balanced energy existing in clearly defined lines; here it was different, with the light merging into dark and varying degrees of balance tearing each other apart inside of her. The Force felt like the stormy oceans of Ach-to and the whirling sandstorms of Jakku at the same time on this rock.

Once she had found the strange pattern of the Force in this forest she held her blade out in front of her with both hands, tying the lantern to her belt, to ensure that she would not be caught off guard by and beast. She continued on in a straight line, moving further into the exponentially increasing chaos of the forest with nothing but her lantern and sight to show her the way, all other senses feeling too overwhelmed to help her. Her weary feet told her that she had been travelling for hours, yet to her it felt like minutes. Shadows leaped around her with the ferocity of an angry dog yet the harmlessness of an ant, doing nothing but distract her tired mind from its goal.

As the chaos around her only grew more and more with each step she was certain she was nearing her goal until it just, stopped.

Rey looked around her and realized that the grey skies of dawn were lighting a large stone temple in the middle of a clearing that only allowed the most beautiful of wildflowers and greenest of grasses to enter. She slowly walked towards the white building that stood towering above her and wondered how this colossal building could remain hidden from the village, for it towered above even the tallest of trees that she had seen and took note of during her journey.

A door made of stone with no apparent way to open it stood in her path, denying her entrance to the ancient building. Beside the door detailed carvings were inscribed with writing beneath them in some sort of ancient language. The carvings showed some people looking eastwards as the sun rose, and showed the light of the sun hitting some sort of circle, opening the door. She quickly realized that it was instructions for any travelers that may arrive long after the society had died.

She turned towards the way which she came from and watched as the red horizon slowly crawled further up the sky. She blinked her eyes rapidly and turned away when the white light of the sun had risen above the tree line to the giant red stone at the top of the door. With a groan the doors slowly opened, allowing for the bright light of early morning to illuminate the main hall of the ancient building. She gasped in wonder before pulling her face into a glare when she felt a presence appear to her left.

"Judging by the previous look on your face you have probably just discovered something beautiful, haven't you?" He asked.

"How can you tell?" She aggressively asked as she turned her head to glare at him.

"Because I can see your surroundings," He responded as he looked around the room.

She raised her eyebrows in shock as she started to state, "But that hasn't happened since-"

"I know."

"But I can't see your surroundings..." She trailed off as she frowned at the marble floor, "Unless-"

"No, I am not on... whatever planet it is that the Resistance has taken you to."

She sighed in relief before stating, "Good."

She watched Kylo wearily for a moment as she went to find out what she was supposed to do from the wall carvings that decorated the hall, much like they did the outside of the building.

Kylo frowned for a moment before stepping forwards and carefully examining the ancient text beneath the carved images.

"House of Raun?" He said quietly to himself in confusion before realization crossed his face.

"What is it?" Rey asked.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I Decided that because I was so cruel in making you guys wait so long, that I would be nice and give you all two chapters tonight. Also Thank you to all two of my reviewers! It is you who keeps me motivated to continue my story. Well Anyways, I believe I should continue the story...**

"The House of Raun was an ancient faction of Force Users that was consistently overthrown for centuries, long before the Old Republic existed. I Had only heard about them through legends and old poems. Many believed that they were a complete myth, although the few that do believe that they existed thought that they were older than even the Sith and Jedi, many even place them as having existed before space travel. How did you find this?" He asked in shock.

"I can't tell you for fear that I may accidentally reveal my location," Rey responded quickly while looking around the room.

"Well then, I suppose that I cannot tell you the story that these carvings tell then..."

"Wait!" She exclaimed before taking a deep breath and looking at him, "The elders of the village that I was staying in told me the poem that was told in their village, given to them by Jedi who searched for the ancient building. All that I had done was try and investigate it myself."

"Well, that will be difficult for you to do," Kylo stated as he looked at the writing in the room, noting the craftsmanship for him to practice his calligraphy later with. He gave a slight smile as he realized that if the carvings were accurate, Rey was going to need to work with him, albeit briefly.

"Why?" She asked while glaring at him slightly.

"This temple was built for a master and an apprentice to navigate, not just one man. It will be practically impossible to enter on your own and leave unscathed. If you look at the pictures on the wall it tells the story of how hubris brought death to any man who entered the temple alone, and while that might be metaphorical it might be best if we take it literally," He stated with a grin. This will be fun, he thought to himself.

"Well then, Before we continue on I do believe that you owe me the story," She stated as she looked around the ancient room at the various carvings.

"Curious as always," He stated with a smirk, "According to these carvings this is one of many temples like it all around the galaxy, and this was the last temple built...

 _"What shall we do your majesty, the newest factions of the Force are surrounding us, we have no means of escape."_

 _"We will need to wait and use our final weapon. We also need to evacuate all of the outer temples and head back to the center world, although make sure to order the scholars and artists to quickly write down our stories so someday someone might find our great society and rebuild it from the ashes if we fail."_

 _"Is that really necessary your majesty?"_

 _"Yes, for while these new factions believe that they hold all of the wisdom and knowledge on one end, and emotions and passion on the other, they fail to see balance. If they gain control with no chance at rebuilding our current society the galaxy shall fall into an eternity of war."_

 _"How shall they get to the central temple, Lord Raun?"_

 _"We shall leave all of the keys they need in well trapped places, so only the most wise and passionate of all can rebuild if we fail."_

 _"Alright then your majesty, I shall order it of them."_

"... so they left some instructions here for how to gain those keys they left behind," He finished after he had read through the most recent history, for all of the ancient history was faded and impossible to understand.

"Alright then, so which way will we need to go?" Rey asked him bluntly.

"Down the main hall, although it does warn on the front for there to be two people when exploring the temple," He stated softly while marveling at the craftsmanship of the temple.

"Fine!" She said with an angry glare, "However if you fade at any point I'm still going to explore," She said.

"Alright, it will do no harm to me," He said with a light shrug, trying to hide the fact that he was internalizing this threat.

He went to the door and read the Rozzum script, "Place the ring in the pedestal and have the lantern shine on the white kyber crystal to get through the main doors in front of us."

Rey swiftly went and placed the items where needed. The doors slowly opened, revealing a long and short hallway lit only by small spaces between the rocks, letting in light from the outside world unintentionally. She quickly went and grabbed both the ring and the lantern before making her way through the door. Once she was safely through Kylo followed, cautiously placing his attention behind him in case of a threat.

"Here it states there are many traps, we'll need to be careful." Kylo said with a frown as they continued forwards.

He soon gained more confidence that thes traps were all dead when he stepped on a stone that dropped lower, like a button. Rey pulled him forwards quickly, with him just barely missing getting hit with a blade hat swung on a pendulum.

"I thought you said that we'd have to be careful?" She lightly quipped as she continued forwards with her light feet.

In front of them a light appeared, at first small, although now it was quite large. They soon entered a room with three things on a pedestal in front of them, a book, a blue kyber crystal, and an ancient dagger. Kylo knelt down to the bottom of the pedestal and said to her, "It states that if you wish to take the three treasures you must leave behind something equal in weight."

She cautiously moved to step beside him at the pedestal. "You grab the items and I'll place these down," She said while guestering towards the lantern and the ring.

"That looks too lightweight." He said while hoping she knew what she was getting them into.

"If I add this rock we should be fine," She said while kneeling down and grabbing said rock off the marble floor.

"If you say so..." He cautiously added.

When she was in position he quickly grabbed the three items while she quickly place her three down. The two stared at the pedestal for a moment before she let out a sigh of relief and he let out a chuckle. Their faces quickly paled when they heard the sound of stone sliding against stone and realized that the pedestal was falling. They looked at each other briefly before starting to run towards the exit. The ceiling started to collapse in on itself as darts came out of holes in the wall, poisoned probably. A large chunk of the hallway started falling and Rey managed to leap across before it all fell.

"Toss them to me! She shouted as he proceeded to toss her all of the treasures that they had stolen. Her eyes widened a bit in fear as she realized that the door they had entered had begun slowly closing. She ran out of the door and out of view, accidentally dropping her sword on the way. Kylo tried to leap across but he realized that he was too short, and grabbed at a metal wire that was exposed. He quickly climbed his way from the ravine only to roll under the falling door at the last minute quickly reaching under and grabbing the sword as an afterthought before continuing forward. He noticed a skeleton behind ancient cobwebs before he turned around and found Rey waiting for him.

"Nice of you to leave me there!" He shouted as they resumed their path outside of the collapsing building.

"You aren't actually here, remember. You would have been fine, me on the other hand, not so much," She stated.

They looked behind them quickly as they heard something start to roll. Realizing it was a boulder they both took off down the new, twisting hallway at full speed to avoid being crushed, before leaping out of the exit at the last minute. Once they were both certain that they were safe he said, "Funny, I can't see your surroundings any more. There must have been something special about that place."

"Must have," She agreed as she caught her breath. She opened the book only to find it was written in what appeared to be the same text written under the carvings, which is to say that she couldn't read it.

"Here," She stated as she tossed the book at him, "I'm not sure if you can take it back with you, but if you can this is for your help."

The book flew through the air before gracelessly landing on the ground next to Kylo.

"Thanks," He said, as he knelt to pick it off the ground, his eyes falling from her face to focus on the book, "And I believe this is yours," he stated as he gave her back her sword.

When he looked up to Thank her again, he realized she was gone, and that he was alone in his room on _The Finalizer._

 **Second AN: Tell me if you enjoyed the reference, because if you did I might try and slip more in where they fit. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I have updated chapter 6 to add more details and make the story make more sense, since I accidentally deleted a part of the chapter. I would also like to thank carissarae for their advise on properly characterizing the characters so I don't venture into the realms of the OOC too much, and strongly suggest you read their fanfics. Next chapter is when things will start to get a bit more serious, as for now though, I thought it would be best to go for a lighthearted chapter. Please enjoy!**

"Do you know when Rey will be back?" Finn asked for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"It's only noon, we aren't expecting her to be back until tomorrow morning," Poe stated with a sigh as he looked at his best friend.

Recalling his interaction with Rey yesterday he realized that he never did give her back her notebook.

"Hey Finn..." Poe started as he looked over to his best friend who was also hiding in the shade of a giant fern beside him, "I kind of stole this from Rey yesterday, want to read it?"

Poe gave Finn his best mischievous grin as he drew her stolen notebook out of his pocket.

"Are you kidding me? That's private! I know that if I were her I wouldn't want anyone to read her diary..." Finn pointedly spoke to Poe while mustering his best Are-You-Kidding-Me glare.

"Who said anything about it being a diary?" Poe asked with amusement lacing his tone.

"Did she keep it hidden?" Finn started.

"Yes."

"Did she try and steel it back from you?"

"Yes."

"Did she seem embarrassed when you found it?"

"Definitely."

"Then it's her diary," Finn deadpanned as he looked back at the village.

"How would you know? You have had next to know experience with people... no offence," Poe exclaimed.

"Well, I was a janitor, and as such I came across a lot of diaries kept by officers and admirals in my day, and if any of them caught me reading them it would have been 'Execute FN-2187 for being a spy and a traitor' and all that."

"So you did read them?" Poe asked as Finn realized that he was being drawn into a checkmate.

"Yes, from time to time, but that's not the point!" Finn exclaimed as he desperately tried to dig himself out of the hole that the pilot had thrown him in.

"Well then, what is different about this case?" Poe asked with a knowing grin on his face as he drew Finn into a losing hand.

"Well, Rey is my friend, and as such I respect her privacy!" Finn shouted before taking in a deep breath to calm himself, "Anyways, I'm going to visit with Rose, the medics say she could wake up any minute now."

"Alright then. Go have fun! And please do come back if you break," Poe said as he looked at Finn.

"If I break?!" Finn asked as if it were outrageous.

"Okay, when you break. Meet me back here in 5 hours." Poe spoke to Finn as he got up to go and visit with Rose.

After Finn had walked off to go and check on Rose, Poe started fidgeting and shifting from side to side as he grew bored of his shade.

"What to do, what to do..." He mumbled on his breath as he looked around at the village they were staying in.

His eyes stopped on the hut that Rey had left her belongings in, and was presumably staying in. 'What the heck,' he thought as he got up on his feet, 'I'm looking through her diary later today, whats looking through her other stuff going to do, except maybe add to the carnage?'

He carefully climbed up the ladder made of twigs that were thatched together with rope until he reached the top of the structure. He clambered onto the deck before making his way to the door. Poe looked both ways before entering through the beaded curtain to ensure that he wouldn't be caught by other members of the Resistance.

One of the first things he noticed were what appeared to be crude sketches of lightsaber positions littering the floor. He carefully lifted the nearest sketch and examined it. It seemed to show a blocking position and had several spots of ink where they didn't make sense. When he put the page up to the light he realized that they were caused by a sketch on the back.

He flipped the page around and saw a middle school-esque sketch of a dark haired figure surrounded by hearts. Confused by the childish nature of the drawing he tried to reason why Rey had drawn the image only to realize that she probably had some form of arrested development given her childhood. Pushing aside his concern over her well being he decided to try and make out who the figure was.

The jacket looked large and stiff, like his previous leather jacket, yet the hair looked longish, similar to his own style. He decided to pocket the sketch to show to Finn later and ask his opinion on it, to see if they could discern whom the figure was.

After he discovered no more sketches of interest, or anything else of interest, he decided to leave the hut. Looking at the early afternoon shadows caused by the scorching sun Poe decided to scan his eyes around the village and find something to do. Noticing that the village was quieter than usual he decided to go back under his fern which, fortunately, still provided shade outside of the forest. Once he had placed himself under his fern it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

"Good morning, Poe!" came the chipper voice of Finn, waking him from his rest.

"Did I really sleep that long?" Poe croaked out in a rough voice.

"No, but I felt like getting some revenge for getting me curious earlier, let's look through that diary!" Finn exclaimed energetically.

"Alright, let me just grab it," He said in his still slightly rough voice as he reached into his pocket.

He also passed the sketch he found earlier to Finn and asked, "I also found this earlier. While I look for the first interesting passage would you like to give a try at finding out exactly who she was trying to draw?"

"It kinda looks like you," Finn stated as he looked at the picture from multiple angles, "but also... not? I can't quite place my finger on it..."

Poe started flipping through the notebook, still blinking the sleep from his eyes, when he found a page with hearts drawn in the margins similar to those on the crude drawing.

"I found one, listen to this," Poe stated as he gently elbowed Finn to gain his attention from the sketch

 _"I love you  
Yet I cannot love  
According to these old books  
The path of the Jedi is one of solitude  
But I wish to stay true  
Like the path of a dove  
When your eye looks  
I feel as though I might end my path of fortitude."_

"Well that sucked," Finn stated as he looked over Poe's shoulder at the aforementioned poem.

"That... seems to be accurate," Poe said with a shrug.

"So... who do you think it's about?" Finn asked to try and cut through the awkwardness.

"I'm, not sure. Would you like to try and find some prose about it?"

"Some what?"

"Prose. You know, the stuff that isn't poetry?"

"That would probably be better. Yeah, let's try and find something that isn't terrible."

"Here is one," Poe said before giving a light cough to clear his throat.

 _"Dear future me,_

 _I just don't know what to feel about him anymore, I think I may love him, yet everytime I think that I am certain about it I question myself and lose my previous feelings. You will probably laugh at me when you look back with your whole life figured out, a certain amount of certainty that will allow you to see everything as trivial. Yet, right now, I_ _am so uncertain, standing on a ship that was torn apart. I just wish I could get advice from you given what I know of Jedi celibacy, and what little I know of his character."_

"She is clearly talking about me," Finn said.

"What makes you say that?!" Poe asked with a look of disbelief colouring his face.

"Her standing on the ship that was torn apart could be a poorly done metaphor about the _Supremacy_ , and given that she knows I was on it at the time of Admiral Holdo's sacrifice it was clearly meant as a reference to me."

"Well I think it makes more sense to be about me, given that she mentions character as it relates to a lack of certainty. No offense, but your personality doesn't exactly spark a lack of stability."

"Well I think you're wrong."

"May the best man win," Poe stated with a smirk as he stood up and shook hands with Finn, signaling that the chase was on.

 **AN part 2: Once again thanks to carissarae! They actually gave me the inspiration to make the notebook a diary, and their writing advice was extremely useful. Once again I strongly suggest that you go and check out their account, given that they do characters significantly better than I do. The next chapter might be out late, given that I am going on vacation soon. Once again I implore you to re-read chapter 6, bacause the details that I added, while short, create a huge amount of context that was lost during my finished draft.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thanks to everyone for the continued support! and don't worry, next chapter we'll be going back to Rey and will be examining things from her perspective once again. I was just bored and needed a break from writing from her perspective, or even just writing about her in general. So for now I hope you enjoy this chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

"General Hux? What brings you here today, I do not believe that it was time for my reports yet," Kylo stated as he looked down at the redheaded general from his throne.

"Sir, our engineers have designed plans for the ultimate superweapon, or, if I were to be more accurate, superweapons," Hux spoke confidently as he held the reports by his side, ready to show the plans and logistics to the new Supreme Leader.

"What are these plans?" Kylo asked with the slightest hint of fear in his voice.

'Strange,' Hux thought, while careful to keep his observation hidden, 'Why is he afraid? I will need to do snooping later, to find out why.'

Hux cleared his throat briefly before continuing, "We plan to create several smaller cannons to destroy planets or bases. The idea is that the Resistance is like ants, and we've been targeting them with a cannon, but with these plans it would be like targeting them with a magnifying glass, creating minimal collateral damage and preventing them to gain any sympathizers. However," Hux continued, as if revealing his final trump card, "If we get a large enough group of them, and place it strategically around a planet's tectonic plates we could destroy a planet. The best part about this entire plan is that, unlike Starkiller Base, it would take dozens of highly skilled pilots to prevent a planet's destruction, instead of just one. If you approve we could start production immediately, Supreme Leader," Hux finished as he handed Kylo the reports.

The look that Hux observed on Kylo's face was one of being trapped, as if he were ruined no matter what choice he made. That just intrigued Hux even more, as it meant there was a reason, likely personal, for his lack of immediate signing. Hux watched every move as Kylo took out a quill and dipped it in ink, quickly signing his name in the designated spot on the page in a neat scrawl before handing it back to the general. Hux carefully tucked away the documents, leaving the room with a brisk pace as he had what he needed, and likely information that could topple Kylo's rule.

Once he had given the document to his personal droid for distribution to the engineering sector, Hux decided to try and sneak his way into Kylo's room, to see if he could find the reason for Ren's apparent behavior from earlier. He carefully slunk his way through the halls, ensuring that his thoughts and actions were well hidden from the force user, as he made his way towards the Supreme Leader's room. Outside of the room two stormtroopers were positioned, bizarrely enough with their masks off, and appeared to be having a conversation.

"... and then he just ran out of the room as if he were being shot at. I honestly don't know if this is better or worse than his temper tantrums, at least we could walk away when he was having those," grumbled a brown haired man as he crossed his arms.

"And then, after a few minutes of chasing him we lose sight, and he comes back with a book! I mean, was it really that pressing to get that book right then?" said a younger blonde man, with all of the annoyance that he could muster.

"I know! Still not as weird as those conversations he has with himself," The brunette said, briefly taking on the tone of his companion for a moment.

"I don't think it's to himself. Do you think he has an imaginary friend? Maybe he's schizophrenic..." the blonde queried as he appeared to look uneasy at the thought.

"So do you think those episodes are just caused by his pills wearing off or something?" The brunette asked sarcastically.

"Maybe, it's my best bet," The blonde answered, not seeming to pick up on the lack of interest from his companion.

"Honestly, once the first Supreme Leader died we were screwed," The brunette stated as he quickly changed the topic.

"What makes you say that?" The blonde asked with genuine curiosity.

"Well on one end we have Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, and on the other we have General Hux. We know quite well the issues with Kylo from firsthand experience, but I've heard from the Echo Squad that Hux isn't much better. Apparently he only cares about three things, the goals and leadership of the First Order, Captain Phasma, and his cat." The brunette said flatly as he uncrossed his arms and leaned against the durasteel wall.

"He has a cat?" The blonde asked in amusement.

"Seems like it. Have you not heard Kylo complaining about it?" The brunette asked back, bewildered that his friend had not known about this.

"I just thought it might be like an imaginary enemy, because you do need to admit that Millicent is a pretty cool sounding villain name," The blonde said as he momentarily drifted off into his own world.

"I suppose you're right. Let's just focus on the task at hand though for a while. This conversation is getting kind of strange," The brunette deadpanned as he moved back into a perfect standing position, picking his weapon off the ground.

After their conversation had been over a few minutes Hux had put together a strategy of sorts to get in.

"Troopers, who allowed you to take your helmets off. I do believe you are on duty still," Hux stated in a passive aggressive tone, hoping they would take the hint.

"It is part of the new ruling, bill C-6178, which allows stormtroopers of the same division to keep their helmets off when on duty so long as they are not fighting or in a position that would require them to fight frequently, general," The brunette stated as he straightened his slumped shoulders.

Shocked by this new revelation that he had heard nothing about Hux quickly changed his strategy. Looking at their numbers he stated in an authoritative tone that he rarely used off of the bridge, "A-9645 and A-2167, go grab me a copy of this report, as well as your direct leading captain to explain to me all of the changes implemented by this bill."

"Yes sir!" They both stated nervously as they went to go and grab those things for him.

Once they were out of sight Hux quickly picked the lock, sneaking into the room with next to no issues. He made quick work of hunting the place, as he was on borrowed time. He peered under the bed to find several books there, and deciding they were his best bet he left the room with them. He quickly locked the door and went down the hallway a bit, hiding the books in a ventilation shaft that was around the corner to raise minimal suspicion. He then proceeded to quickly make his way back to the door, and waited for the stormtroopers to arrive. He would review those books later.

 **AN the second: I know that it's a bit shorter than the previous two chapters but I felt it was an appropriate time to end, seeing as the important revelations from the books will come a bit later. I hope you all enjoy this, seeing as this was my favorite chapter to write, although that might just be because Hux is my favorite character (Yes, I even prefer him over Kylo). Anywho, in the time before my vacation I am going to try and get as many chapters done as possible for you guys, and when I get back I shall reveal a personal project idea in the AN to see if you guys would like it or not. Until next time, this has been Tanzanite for Jade.**


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